Link building for SEO: What works in 2026

Link building is an important portion of SEO for building authority, driving referral traffic, and now besides improving your AI visibility.

But location are galore different ways to build links, and not each of them person the aforesaid imaginable effect connected your site’s authority. This guideline will explicate what nexus building is, what makes a nexus worthy pursuing, and the 2 categories of nexus building strategies you should see using. 

Most teams don’t recognize they request 2 types of nexus building

You tin deliberation of modern nexus building arsenic being divided into 2 categories of strategies based connected what they nutrient for your brand:

• Link producers: This type of nexus building is much accessible, tin make a precocious measurement of links, and is wherever astir tract owners start. The links tin beryllium valuable, and the strategies are mostly worthy keeping arsenic portion of your ongoing strategy arsenic you build authority.
• Association producers: This type of nexus building is much effort-intensive, but the strategies nutrient the benignant of marque relation that hunt engines and AI systems usage erstwhile deciding which brands to rank, mention, and cite. They besides thin to nutrient much links from higher authority sites.

Most caller nexus building programs attraction almost wholly connected the nexus producers type. These links are typically easier and little time-intensive to build. But these links don’t often lead to beardown marque associations. They alternatively attraction connected conscionable getting hyperlinks to your content, pinch little attraction connected the discourse of the individual links.

The strategies that autumn nether the relation producers class are still focused connected getting links, but the link’s (or mention’s) placement and discourse besides matter. These links require much investment, but they often build much authority and greater visibility returns successful the process.

What is nexus building successful SEO?

Link building is the process of getting different websites to nexus to yours, which tin amended your visibility successful accepted hunt results and successful AI-generated answers.

How nexus building helps hunt motor visibility

Search engines for illustration Google spot backlinks arsenic signals of authority. 

When reliable sites nexus to your content, it signals to hunt engines that your tract is besides reliable and worthy showing successful hunt results.

How nexus building helps AI visibility

AI systems don't person a link-based ranking strategy for illustration Google's that we cognize of, but they do look astatine which brands look consistently successful reliable and contextually applicable content. 

However, AI systems often trust connected indexes from hunt engines for illustration Google and Bing. So there’s apt an indirect effect astatine play, wherever expanding your authority successful hunt engines tin besides summation your authority successful AI systems. 

Our study pinch Growth Advisor Kevin Indig recovered that backlink-related factors (like nexus quality) power AI visibility. This illustrates really nexus building tin thief amended some your hunt motor and AI visibility. 

What affects a backlink’s value?

Not each backlinks person the aforesaid effect connected SEO. Some backlinks whitethorn person nary effect astatine all, and links obtained done spammy strategies (sometimes called toxic backlinks) tin beryllium harmful.

Here are the superior factors that power a backlink’s value:

Authority

Links from charismatic sites usually person much SEO impact. 

For example, a backlink from a well-known tract for illustration bbc.co.uk will astir apt impact your SEO much than 1 from an chartless blog that was conscionable launched yesterday.

Authoritative websites are typically those that:

• Have a divers scope of websites linking to them
• Drive a reasonable magnitude of integrated traffic
• Publish high-quality content
• Have a clear topical focus 
• Provide a bully personification experience

Sites that stock galore aliases each of these traits are much apt to impact your site’s visibility if they nexus to you.

Gauge immoderate website’s authority pinch Semrush’s Authority Score metric. It’s measured connected a 100-point standard and factors in:

• Link power: Quality and amount of a site’s backlinks
• Organic traffic: Estimated monthly unpaid visits from hunt engines
• Natural profile: How spam-free a site’s backlink floor plan seems

Earning links from little charismatic sites is good because a balanced backlink floor plan includes some high- and low-authority sites. The BBC’s website has an Authority Score of 100, moreover though they person much links from low-authority sites and less from high-authority sites. 

See the Authority Score of immoderate website pinch our free website authority checker.

Relevance

Backlinks transportation much weight erstwhile they travel from sites successful your niche, because having those sites linking to you implies you’re respected by experts successful your field. 

Relevance besides matters astatine the contented level. A nexus successful a paragraph that's straight astir your taxable is worthy much than 1 successful a conception that’s not related to your business.

For example, if you waste hoops shoes, see 3 hypothetical backlinks:

• Backlink 1 is from a farming website successful a blog station astir plants. The backlink apt has minimal worth because the tract and taxable are irrelevant.
• Backlink 2 isfrom a sports blog successful a station astir cardio exercises. This backlink offers immoderate value, since it’s astatine slightest successful your niche.
• Backlink 3 is from a sports blog’s hoops footwear buying guideline successful a paragraph describing your merchandise arsenic the “best hoops shoes.” This is simply a high-value backlink, since the site, the page, and the nexus are each straight relevant.

Link placement

Links placed much prominently connected a page tin person greater value. 

Google’s “reasonable surfer model” (described successful this patent) considers really apt users are to click a nexus based connected its location. 

We can’t opportunity pinch assurance that Google is really utilizing this patent. We besides don’t cognize if this plays a portion for AI systems. But the logic of the patent suggests that links successful sidebars aliases footers often person little effect than those successful the main assemblage content. Generally, an earlier placement successful the main contented is best.

Anchor text

Backlinks pinch descriptive anchor text (the clickable text) tin thief hunt systems understand what the linked page is about.

For example, anchor matter for illustration “basketball shoes” is much useful than “click here.” (This is existent for some users and hunt engines.)

Anchor matter should publication naturally. You mostly won’t beryllium capable to power the usage of anchor matter successful earthy backlinks to your site. But over-optimized anchor matter tin awesome spammy nexus building and lead to a punishment that hurts your rankings.

Nofollow, sponsored, and UGC attributes 

Some links incorporate a nofollow attribute (or different attribute) that tells hunt engines not to walk ranking signals. 

In HTML, a nexus pinch the nofollow property (a “nofollow link”) typically looks for illustration this:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a>

Backlinks without these attributes are often called "follow" aliases “dofollow” links. 

The 3 main attributes you’ll brushwood are:

• rel="nofollow": Used erstwhile a patient doesn't want to walk an endorsement
• rel="sponsored": Used for paid links
• rel="ugc": Used for user-generated contented for illustration forum posts and comments

Google treats these attributes arsenic hints, meaning its ranking systems whitethorn still facet these links in. 

And our backlinks study showed that nofollow links person almost the aforesaid effect connected AI visibility arsenic modular travel links. Meaning nexus placement and discourse apt matter much than whether the nexus is nofollow.

Co-citations and co-occurrences

Co-citations and co-occurences are signals related to what your tract is linked aliases mentioned alongside, and some tin effect the worth of that nexus aliases mention. 

Co-citations are erstwhile your marque is linked aliases mentioned alongside different trusted names successful your space. 

For example, if you waste task guidance package and your merchandise appears successful the aforesaid article arsenic monday.com, Asana, and ClickUp, that relation tells hunt and AI systems what class you're successful and who your competitors are. 

Co-occurrences are erstwhile position related to your business look consistently alongside your marque sanction crossed the web (or alongside links to your content). 

If contented that mentions aliases links to your task guidance instrumentality besides tends to mention “workflow automation,” “kanban boards,” and “team collaboration,” hunt systems tin summation a clearer image of what your marque does and erstwhile it's relevant.

Getting links successful relevant, value contented will typically build co-citations and co-occurences people complete time.

How to build links (and really not to)

Below are the 4 astir communal ways to build links:

Which nexus building strategies really work?

All of the beneath strategies activity good for building backlinks to your website.

The first 5 nexus building strategies are nexus producers. They person the imaginable to make a batch of links arsenic you standard them, and are the perfect starting points for caller sites.

The past 5 strategies are relation producers. These require much investment, but they typically gain placements successful charismatic websites, and tin person a bigger effect connected your hunt motor and AI visibility.

1. Conduct email outreach

Email outreach is the process of contacting tract owners, editors, aliases contented teams to petition a link. 

Many nexus building campaigns trust connected acold email, which is erstwhile you scope retired to personification pinch whom you person nary anterior relationship. This tin work, but you’re often competing pinch galore different tract owners utilizing the aforesaid tactic. 

So, it’s overmuch amended to build immoderate benignant of narration first. You tin do this by:

• Sharing aliases commenting connected their articles and societal posts 
• Referencing and linking to their activity successful thing you people and letting them know
• Replying to their newsletter aliases responding to thing they've written

Do this consistently complete time. It won’t guarantee that you’ll build a narration that’ll lead to a link, but it tin make it much likely.

Once you’ve built up a narration pinch the nexus prospect, nonstop a transportation email that:

• References thing circumstantial astir their content
• Explains intelligibly why your portion would use their readers
• Asks them to nexus to a peculiar portion successful a circumstantial spot wrong their content

For much connected really to pitch, spot our guideline to link building outreach.

2. Reclaim mislaid backlinks

Recovering backlinks that you mislaid (such arsenic if the linking tract updated the content, deleted the page, aliases redirected the page) is often easier than building caller links.

To find mislaid links, usage Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool. Run an audit for your domain and spell to the “Lost & Found” tab. This study shows really galore referring domains person been acquired, broken, aliases mislaid complete the past 30, 60, aliases 90 days. 

To find mislaid backlinks, scroll down and click connected the “Lost” tab astatine the apical of the table. To prioritize, select the database to show links pinch precocious Authority Scores (above 40 is simply a bully starting point).

Investigate why each backlink disappeared. If the page still exists and is relevant, email the tract proprietor and inquire them to reconstruct the link.

Not each mislaid nexus is worthy the effort. Focus connected links from charismatic and applicable domains. 

3. Analyze and recreate competitor backlinks

Look astatine wherever your competitors get links from to study what contented attracts links successful your niche and to spot which sites are already consenting to nexus to businesses for illustration yours.

The extremity isn't to transcript your competitors' links exactly. Many of their backlink placements won't beryllium disposable to you. For example, if the nexus came from a narration pinch a partner you don't have. 

Instead of copying, the purpose is to find inspiration for akin links you could build to your ain site.

Use Semrush’s Backlinks instrumentality to look astatine which pages connected a competitor’s tract person the astir backlinks. Enter a competitor's domain and spell to the "Indexed Pages" study to spot their pages sorted by the number of referring domains pointing to each page.

Look for patterns successful the pages that pull the astir links. Are they each connected a akin topic? Do they usage akin formats? Do they see free tools? The answers to these questions tin bespeak what you'd request to create to build akin links.

If aggregate competitors person links from the aforesaid domains, those domains whitethorn beryllium much apt to nexus to you. 

Find domains that nexus to aggregate rivals pinch Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool. Add your domain and up to 4 competitors’ domains, past click “Find prospects.”

The “Best” tab is selected by default and shows domains that nexus to each your competitors but not to you. 

The file nether each competitor’s domain shows really galore backlinks travel to that domain from the website successful the “Referring domain” column. Click the arrow to spot specifications astir the backlinks immoderate rival gets from a peculiar domain, including the anchor matter and target URL.

Visit each referring domain to understand if that website would beryllium a bully 1 for your tract to get a nexus from. Then look astatine the pages connected your rivals’ sites that the domain links to, truthful you tin understand what benignant of contented you whitethorn request to nutrient to get that nexus (or a akin one).

4. Get listed connected assets pages

Getting links from assets pages that curate links to useful contented successful a circumstantial niche (e.g., being featured successful a instrumentality listicle) tin thief you summation backlinks that are peculiarly applicable to your brand. 

Being featured connected assets pages besides builds co-citations, since you’ll beryllium linked alongside different sites successful your industry.

Here’s an illustration of a assets page astir integer trading links, which links to various integer trading tools:

To find applicable assets pages usage Google hunt operators like:

• [your topic] + inurl:resources
• [your topic] + "helpful resources"
• [your topic] + "useful links"

If you waste email trading software, for example, you could hunt “‘email marketing’ inurl:resources.”

Prioritize pages that are actively maintained and nexus to genuinely useful content. Then, cheque whether your contented would fresh alongside what's already listed. If it links to guides, lead pinch a well-researched guideline alternatively than a merchandise page.

Reach retired to the page proprietor pinch a short, circumstantial transportation that describes what your assets is, why it fits their audience, and wherever connected the page it belongs. The much circumstantial you are astir the fit, the amended your chances of receiving a link. 

5. Do surgery nexus building

Use surgery nexus building to find links connected different sites that constituent to pages that nary longer exist, past propose your contented arsenic a replacement. 

Site owners mostly want to hole surgery links to supply a amended personification experience, and you get a nexus opportunity. So, it’s a triumph for some parties.

Use Semrush’s Backlinks instrumentality to find a competitor’s surgery pages. Enter a competitor’s domain, past spell to the “Indexed Pages” study and cheque the container adjacent to “Broken Pages.”

You’ll spot a database of surgery pages connected the competitor’s tract sorted by the number of “Domains” (how galore different sites nexus to them). 

Look for surgery pages that you person a bully replacement for by visiting each URL. Then, click the number successful the “Backlinks” file to spot the page’s backlinks you whitethorn beryllium capable to inherit.

Click the icon alongside the URL to position a backlink successful discourse and spot if it’ll beryllium a bully fresh for your projected link. 

If the tract is simply a bully candidate, nonstop them an email pinch the page connected your tract that you want them to switch the surgery nexus with.

6. Create linkable assets

Creating linkable assets helps you gain links agelong aft you people and besides frames you arsenic an charismatic root for hunt engines and AI systems. 

A linkable plus is contented that attracts backlinks naturally, for illustration tools, information studies, aliases in-depth guides. Linkable assets springiness different tract owners thing actual to reference that they can’t find anyplace else.

Common formats for linkable assets include:

• Tools and calculators
• In-depth guides
• Visual assets

An illustration of a page that does each 3 is thecalculatorsite.com’s compound liking calculator. 

It combines a adjuvant instrumentality pinch an eventual guideline to compound interest, on pinch eye-catching visuals.

The page has generated 3.3K backlinks from 1.1K domains. 

7. Leverage integer PR

Digital PR focuses connected gaining online sum successful high-authority places for illustration manufacture publications, news sites, etc., done absorbing stories.

The sum you get pinch integer PR is the benignant of contented AI systems often retrieve erstwhile answering questions astir your class aliases comparing options successful your space. This intends it builds accepted nexus equity (to thief pinch SEO) and marque relation (to amended some SEO and AI optimization) astatine the aforesaid time. And you don’t moreover person to get a nexus to spot benefits. 

Campaigns that gain sum thin to person original research, an absorbing return connected the news, aliases a imaginative conception that generates liking connected its own.

An illustration of integer PR successful action is Writerbuddy’s AI manufacture analysis. It put together information and infographics astir the 50 most-visited AI tools, on pinch a elaborate guideline going complete the findings. 

The run generated links from high-authority sites for illustration Forbes and CNBC.

For much connected moving your ain campaigns, cheque retired our afloat guideline to digital PR.

8. Become a source

Becoming a root for journalists and contented creators who request master input tin gain links and marque mentions successful the resulting articles.

There are various platforms you tin usage to find opportunities. Popular ones see Featured and Help a Reporter Out (HARO). 

You tin besides hunt “#JournoRequest” connected X to find akin opportunities from journalists looking for sources.

A quote aliases reference successful an editorial article tin spot your marque successful credible, applicable content. This tin output co-citations and co-occurences that make it easier for hunt engines and AI systems to understand what your marque is each astir — moreover if there’s nary link.

Note that this maneuver is competitory and time-intensive. Journalists person a batch of pitches, and consequence rates tin beryllium low, particularly erstwhile you're starting out. If you tin dedicate personification to pitching journalists and creators regularly, it tin nutrient a precocious number of value links and mentions complete time. 

9. Do impermanent blogging

Guest blogging for different publication places your marque successful beforehand of a applicable assemblage and whitethorn gain you a nexus from a tract pinch existent authority. 

To find the correct publications to impermanent station on, look astatine wherever your competitors person published impermanent contented and usage that to place sites that whitethorn beryllium worthy reaching retired to. The aforesaid caveat applies present arsenic pinch competitor backlinks: Don't effort to constitute the aforesaid article for the aforesaid publication. 

If your competitor conscionable published a impermanent station connected a circumstantial topic, transportation a related but chopped angle. Or a station connected a different topic. The tract astir apt won’t people your contented if they already person a akin portion connected that taxable from a competitor. 

For example, Replay Listings is an flat rental agency successful New York. If you were competing pinch them, you could hunt for “‘replay listings’ + ‘contributor’” aliases “‘replay listings’ + ‘guest post.’” This would uncover impermanent posts from the company’s laminitis connected sites for illustration Entrepreneur and Forbes.

In this case, immoderate of these impermanent posts are centered astir the founder’s journey. You could transportation your ain laminitis travel communicative to these sites. Or you could transportation them ideas astir things you’ve learned since starting your business.

Since Entrepreneur and Forbes are business-focused sites, pitching a communicative astir your acquisition moving a business is astir apt going to beryllium much appealing to their assemblage than 1 astir existent property specifically. 

If your competitors haven’t contributed to different websites, usage these hunt operators to find sites successful your niche that judge contributions:

• [your industry] + “contribute”
• [your industry] + “guest post”
• [your industry] + “guest blog”
• [your industry] + “write for us”

Editors astatine charismatic publications get a batch of generic pitches. So, trade a beardown transportation that stands retired by specifying precisely what you'd constitute about, why it fits their audience, and what position you bring that their existing contented doesn't cover.

10. Get links from partners

Links from businesses you already person a narration pinch tin beryllium reasonably easy to get. 

While links from partner directories are improbable to walk overmuch authority for hunt motor rankings, they tin lead to co-citations that awesome to hunt engines and AI systems what class you run successful and who your peers are. 

Technology partners, resellers, agencies you activity with, and manufacture organizations you're affiliated pinch often person partner pages aliases assets sections wherever a nexus to your tract would fresh naturally. Find these opportunities by mapping retired your existing relationships and checking whether those sites nexus to partners. 

Here’s an illustration of a partner directory that includes short descriptions of the site’s partners, pinch links to each website.

How to way your nexus building efforts

Perform regular nexus building audits to way new, lost, and perchance harmful backlinks. 

Semrush’s Backlink Audit instrumentality tin do this automatically. First, spell to the tool’s settings and prime “Recrawl schedule.” 

Choose a frequency, then, click “Update.” 

You’ll past person emails summarizing your caller audit information based connected your specified cadence.

In the “Overview” tab, you tin besides show your site’s Authority Score. Progress whitethorn beryllium gradual, but dependable improvements successful AS often bespeak meaningful nexus building success.

Start building value links today

Link building is important for increasing your website’s visibility successful some hunt engines and AI systems. 

Some nexus building strategies are champion for building links and mentions reasonably quickly and/or astatine scale. Others require much effort but tin build stronger associations astir your marque to springiness hunt engines and AI devices much discourse astir what you do.

Whether you’re building your site’s first links aliases moving your 10th campaign, Semrush’s SEO Toolkit tin thief you find opportunities, analyse competitors, and way your nexus building efforts. Try it for free today.